Virginia lieutenant governor: Jackson, Northam miles apart on issues

October 20, 2013|By Dave Ress, dress@dailypress.com

Through the spring, seven GOP hopefuls lined up at forums across the state to make pretty much identical cases to be Virginia's lieutenant governor — but when E.W. Jackson spoke, his backers in their bright red hats leapt to their feet with an energy they seemed barely able contain.

That energy erupted in May at the Republican convention in Richmond after the Chesapeake pastor most thought of as an also-ran swept to the party's nomination, declaring: "God will show us the way, but Virginia will lead the way and let liberty light the way."

His Democratic opponent, Norfolk physician and state Sen. Ralph Northam, is a little more down to earth.

His aim, Northam says, is to do the lieutenant governor's primary job of presiding over the state Senate, "to make sure they're working together to move policy forward."

Jackson and Northam each seek to be the official who breaks ties in the state Senate, stands ready to succeed a governor who dies or resigns and who traditionally does little else except eye the governor's mansion for the next election.

The two men stand miles apart on the hot-button issues of abortion and gay marriage — and Jackson's emphatic stances and fiery language have drawn attention to a contest that normally is a yawn.

"This lieutenant governor's race has gotten more attention than others because of E.W. Jackson. He's a very compelling candidate," said Quentin Kidd, a political scientist at Christopher Newport University.

CNU's latest poll gives Northam a 12 percentage point lead in the race, a far wider margin than the four- to six-point gaps in recent NBC News/Marist College, Roanoke College and University of Mary Washington polls or the dead heat in Hampton University's late-September survey.

Jackson is a strong speaker, but the way he states his positions exacerbates problems some voters may have with his stances, Kidd said.

But, Kidd added, voters who agree with those stands like the way he expresses them – a lot.

Northam, on the other hand, is "a medical doctor who feels strongly about abortion rights," Kidd said. "It's like he is the direct opposite of E.W. Jackson."

And that may be what the election ends up being about.

"Women are breaking for Northam in big numbers, Northern Virginia is breaking for Northam in big numbers," Kidd said.

"It's less about Northam than about how people feel about Jackson."

One Jackson fan is retired Massachusetts car-dealer Frederick Muzi, a friend who has given his campaign $2,500.

Katherine Waddell, who was an aide to former Republican Lt. Gov. John Hager and represented Richmond in the House of Delegates from 2005 to 2007 as an independent, is backing Northam because she likes what he says and does on women's health issues, including abortion.

"He's very low key, but you want to listen and when you start listening you really want to hear what he has to say because you know it is going to be important," she said.

Low key is not the term for Jackson.

Jackson's comments about gays – whom he has called "very sick" – and the Democratic Party, which he has said is anti-God, would get in the way of doing the job of lieutenant governor, Northam has said.

"What we don't need in the Senate is someone making comments about other folks' religion that are offensive. We don't need people talking about others' sexual orientation," Northam said in the candidates' Norfolk debate earlier this month.

Jackson replied then that his religious opinions should not be held against him, adding that he would "be the lieutenant governor of all of the people of Virginia.… You work with everyone, Democrats, Republicans, and I want to do that because I think we desperately need to come together."

As lieutenant governor, Jackson or Northam would have to break tie votes in the state Senate.

For the past two years, that tie-breaking role been critical because the Senate is split 20-20 between Democrats and Republicans. In this year's General Assembly session, Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling broke ties on GOP-backed voter ID legislation, on parts of Gov. Bob McDonnell's education bill and on legislation requiring abortion clinics to meet hospital construction standards, a measure abortion rights advocates say was aimed at reducing access to the procedure.

The Senate would remain split for two more years if Northam loses, since he would keep his seat, or if Northam wins and is succeeded by a Democrat to represent his district. Northam carried the district, which stretches from the northernmost part of Norfolk to include the Eastern Shore and Mathews County, with nearly 57 percent of votes cast in 2011. President Barack Obama won about the same percentage in 2012.

With social issues dominating campaign rhetoric, there hasn't been much talk about how either sees the job of lieutenant governor.